Problems of Ethics in Public Sector Management

This article draws attention to some of the effects of new public management on questions of ethics. It does not argue that there was some past golden period when all was right in the context of public sector management but that it is important to consider how moral standards were appreciated and applied in official work in a previous period, how difficulties arose, what they were and how they were resolved. In the contemporary context it is important to understand what difficulties are currently arising, to ensure that the ethical dimensions of public sector work today are appreciated, and to suggest that new approaches should be considered if previous provisions are no longer adequate or practicable.